Leeds United fell to defeat at the hands of West Ham United at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.

The 2-1 loss saw the Whites fall into the relegation places in the Premier League table, and still awaiting their first victory of the season.

  • How cruel was that result to take after that performance?

A stoppage time winner from Michail Antonio saw the Hammers come from behind to beat an injury depleted Leeds side.

Raphinha opened the scoring for the Whites on 19 minutes to send the Elland Road crowd into raptures, but a second half own goal from Junior Firpo and a late Antonio effort condemned Marcelo Bielsa's side to defeat.

After the game, Bielsa, spoke to the media to discuss the result. After a good first half performance from Bielsa's men they collapsed in the second half to allow the visitors claim the victory.

"The two teams with different realities," Bielsa explained. 

"In this case they found the triumph, I don't think that we deserved to lose but I imagine that the opponent's manager [David Moyes] thinks that they deserved to win.

"When a team finds itself in a good moment, they obtain these recompenses and when a team accumulates negative results, they don't find a lot of things that they deserve." he added.

  • What happened in the second half? What changed?

It was a game of two halves at Elland Road on Saturday with Leeds having the better of the first and West Ham having the better of the second and Bielsa was asked what happened in the second half and if anything changed.

"Our project of play was the same and when you conserve a result, we stopped doing things that are necessary to avoid losing what you obtained," Bielsa revealed.

"Responses that sometimes are natural, trying to hold onto what you've got and forgetting the path that led you there. We spend too much time defending and not enough time in the opponent's half.

When you defend too close to your goalkeeper, it's likely that the opponent's chances to score increase." the former Argentina boss explained.

  • Why was Raphinha substituted?

Leeds winger Raphinha was substituted against West Ham United with 20 minutes remaining of the clash with the score at 1-1 between the two sides and Bielsa was asked why he substituted the Brazilian against the Hammers. "He let us know that it was becoming difficult to stay on the pitch," he confirmed.

"Throughout the whole week he was recovering from the knock he received against Newcastle, and he played a great game as long as he could stay on the field." he explained.

  • Where was Adam Forshaw?

Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw wasn't included in the matchday squad against West Ham United despite featuring against Fulham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and Bielsa explained where he was: "He [Adam Forshaw] had a tear in the posterior part of his thigh," he said.

When asked how bad the injury was and if he was going to be out for a long period of time, Bielsa revealed: "With a muscular injury, they usually consume a month's time. 

"Forshaw makes enormous efforts to not reinjure himself, but after two years out it takes a lot to get back into the swing of things."

Young Leeds defender Charlie Cresswell was handed his Premier League debut against the Hammers after an impressive display against Fulham in midweek and Bielsa gave his thoughts on his first Premier League start: "Yes it was a performance with a lot of personality and character," he revealed.

"Very few errors. Composing himself in a very very difficult game against a striker who is very difficult to neutralise. For a young player who took a long time to earn this opportunity, like he [Cresswell] did so against Fulham."

VAVEL Logo
About the author